Nihon - Japan
The Four Elements
10.25.2006
The Henri Jayer 1993 Cros Parantoux
I remember very well one of the paths that led me to a different perception of wines was the result of tasting Henri Jayer's wines...had I not tasted, I perhaps would still have been stuck in the ignorant mode of continually drinking wines that taste liked stewed fruit compote.
This particular bottle actually was tasted after I made some startling conclusions because of walking through the Cros Parantoux vineyard. I will never forget my first sight of a small patch of green land in a portion of the vineyard - the little oasis at the intersection of Richebourg and Cros Parantoux!! And the realization that the vines grow North/South stunned me... Something that I never had thought about before. So what exactly does it mean?? Now I realize that Henri must have felt the ambition of coming close to the great land which sits just a hundred meters away called Romanee Conti.
One day I will drink a '93 Cros P next to '93 Romanee Conti and make a prayer as it must be something to try them side by side. It will prove the truth to me about the theory of Henri's ambition and what he strove for...I could of course be totally wrong...
At one point I actually thought that perhaps through his wife, Henri had actually somehow got a hold of some clippings from Romanee Conti or perhaps La Tache, and planted them in the old artichoke field...but now those thoughts have somewhat been pushed aside. Although yet I still wonder at the amazing pungency of the five spice nose which it seems that only Henri's wines can achieve - that is of course other than those from DRC. Even his Echezeaux, which is quite far away in distance and also quite a bit more flat land(ed) in comparison to the DRC's great vineyards all surrounding Romanee Conti, has the five spice - V5. It is the secret of the master. It is sometimes even more defined in Henri's wines than in the DRC - in the DRC one just smells the five spice and it blends beautifully and seamlessly into the structure. But in Henri's wines, the five spices are like a royal flush that fans out in front of your palate and challenge your senses.
In this '93, the five spices are not yet showing though!! Strange for an Henri wine, but what is there is a mountain so grand and noble that one is daunted by the sheer immensity of the expression. Someone shouts from the highest point in the Cote de Nuits about the greatness of this vintage. Darkness - is it really night so black and fathomless? Who is that calling? Is it something scary or is it benign? But some time passes and you realize something of this wine, then you can see and taste that Henri's message is a cry of desperation.
The conflict in this wine is so elemental as to really frighten this taster. I thought about something like Scarbo or E. Allen Poe...something that rises from the bottom of the earth like a giant shadow. As the shadow grows and grows, you sense the possible that the wine imagines - that it tries to eclipse the great Romanee Conti.
I can surely say that the day I taste the two wines side by side will be one of great sadness. No Cros P will ever dominate Romanee Conti, and yet I know now that the spirit of the Cros P will dominate the RC!! It will be a fantastic battle of two forces. Man vs. nature. Conti will be entirely confident and will not try to win. She will show her nobility and no matter the wine maker!! But Henri will always be remembered as the man who attempted to defy terroir.
Copyright © Peter Wittenberg
This particular bottle actually was tasted after I made some startling conclusions because of walking through the Cros Parantoux vineyard. I will never forget my first sight of a small patch of green land in a portion of the vineyard - the little oasis at the intersection of Richebourg and Cros Parantoux!! And the realization that the vines grow North/South stunned me... Something that I never had thought about before. So what exactly does it mean?? Now I realize that Henri must have felt the ambition of coming close to the great land which sits just a hundred meters away called Romanee Conti.
One day I will drink a '93 Cros P next to '93 Romanee Conti and make a prayer as it must be something to try them side by side. It will prove the truth to me about the theory of Henri's ambition and what he strove for...I could of course be totally wrong...
At one point I actually thought that perhaps through his wife, Henri had actually somehow got a hold of some clippings from Romanee Conti or perhaps La Tache, and planted them in the old artichoke field...but now those thoughts have somewhat been pushed aside. Although yet I still wonder at the amazing pungency of the five spice nose which it seems that only Henri's wines can achieve - that is of course other than those from DRC. Even his Echezeaux, which is quite far away in distance and also quite a bit more flat land(ed) in comparison to the DRC's great vineyards all surrounding Romanee Conti, has the five spice - V5. It is the secret of the master. It is sometimes even more defined in Henri's wines than in the DRC - in the DRC one just smells the five spice and it blends beautifully and seamlessly into the structure. But in Henri's wines, the five spices are like a royal flush that fans out in front of your palate and challenge your senses.
In this '93, the five spices are not yet showing though!! Strange for an Henri wine, but what is there is a mountain so grand and noble that one is daunted by the sheer immensity of the expression. Someone shouts from the highest point in the Cote de Nuits about the greatness of this vintage. Darkness - is it really night so black and fathomless? Who is that calling? Is it something scary or is it benign? But some time passes and you realize something of this wine, then you can see and taste that Henri's message is a cry of desperation.
The conflict in this wine is so elemental as to really frighten this taster. I thought about something like Scarbo or E. Allen Poe...something that rises from the bottom of the earth like a giant shadow. As the shadow grows and grows, you sense the possible that the wine imagines - that it tries to eclipse the great Romanee Conti.
I can surely say that the day I taste the two wines side by side will be one of great sadness. No Cros P will ever dominate Romanee Conti, and yet I know now that the spirit of the Cros P will dominate the RC!! It will be a fantastic battle of two forces. Man vs. nature. Conti will be entirely confident and will not try to win. She will show her nobility and no matter the wine maker!! But Henri will always be remembered as the man who attempted to defy terroir.
Copyright © Peter Wittenberg
10.19.2006
Commissioned work 'Dogged by Hell Hounds' Broadcast on October 15, 2006 on WHYY
Shown after the premiere in Field Hall at the Curtis Institute of music from left to right: Juliana and Stewart Goodyear, violinist Won Hee Bae, and pianist Peter Wittenberg
'Dogged by Hell Hounds' written for violin and piano by Stewart Goodyear and commissioned by Won Hee Bae and Peter Wittenberg. The first performance was broadcast over WHYY FM on October 15th, 2006 on the program Sunday Showcase.
Assorted 1996 Red Burgundy
Vintage: Rather high acid wines that at times lack ripeness but in many cases show very good structure - patience.
Dugat-Py GC Les Evocelles
No real nose to speak of except that it smells very dark. On the palate very rustic and full bodied in the style of a Chataneuf du Pape from an under ripe and tart year with tons of extract and a heavy feel. Clumsy and overblown with not much pinot recognizable. Mediocre wine at best - 80.
Claude Dugat Charmes Chambertin
Very dark color. Nose is filled with notes of hot concrete. Palate is utterly packed with flavors of catfish and old blackberry teabags. A real mouthful of cherry charred oak burns a highway onto your palate - 90 points for the concentration and length of the fruit on the finish.
Claude Dugat Lavaux St. Jacques
Ripe nose of dense rose bushes and raw sawdust! Lacks class in that grandma's perfume sort of way, but is very good and obviously high quality. This will last for at least another 10 years...93.
Jadot Bonnes Mares
Nice nose of classic kaleidoscopic intensity. Nice transparent stone and pit fruit which is also well balanced and complex. But the quibble is that it lacks the depth to be great. A rather lighter effort that tastes like it was made from excessively high yields - 91.
Lafon Volnay Les Santenots du Milieu
Smells bright and shiny new like a little red Matchbox car. Right now closed and not impressive; angular, light body, high acid, and average level of complexity - a total disappointment for a Lafon - 83.
Leroy Chambolle Musigny Fremieres
Another disappointing bottle from Leroy - just a very mediocre 85 point grocery store wine at an overblown price.
Leroy Clos de la Roche
Pretty nose of violets, orange-rind and cherry fruit. After trying this wine and others from '96 I seriously started to ask myself if Lalou had put oranges to fertilize the vineyards...? But on the palate this is a behemoth with mouth-searing acidity. The powerful palate-staining fruit is full and long and fans out later into a squirell's tail of canyon underbrush and small purple flowers. The style here is highly extracted and not entirely balanced. I wouldn't count on this gaining in the grace department but it sure will live a long time - a football or rugby player's wine - 93 points.
Leroy Mazis-Chambertin
This is pretty average for a $550 wine. Can't understand how Lalou can still sell these suckers for the prices asked...it must have something to do with the Versace craze that swept the nation a while back. On the palate, surprisingly easy-going and lush, and not too deep and not very complex. Overall a disappointment especially considering the pricetag! 92. Just found out that Premier Cru is blowing these out for less than $200 per...not surprised.
Leroy Nuits St. George Aux Allots
Nose of billionaire's trashcan - oxidizing Valencia oranges and discarded Glog spices from the holiday punch - like the smell in your kitchen the morning after the big Xmas party. Very full bodied and lively on palate but it lacks class. I kept asking myself, why bother making this concentrated a wine from such an ugly duckling terroir? The end result is that it is very exuberant in that dumb-retarded sort of way. It keeps hee hawing its way around your mouth - 86 points for the exuberance it displays.
Leroy Romanee St. Vivant
Yet again another $600 wine that is not that impressive. The fruit is silky, but the palate is gutted with charred oak, and on top of that is flabby compared to the '95. Moderate and rather tart finish...89?
Meo Camuzet Vosne Romanee les Brulees
Better than Cros Parantoux in this vintage. Great nose of Vosne 5. Nice spicy and steely fruit, but not the depth or balance of the '93 model year - 92.
Montille Volnay Taillepieds
Liquid Bayer aspirin and hey, it's slightly red...blech! - 73.
Rouget Vosne Romanee AC
Super VR regular bottle - 90.
Rouget Vosne Romanee Cros Parantoux
Beautiful classic pure vosne 5 nose; on the palate very high toned though…a bit disappointing in that the fruit is too shrill, not wholly complex for a burg, and not grounded enough for me. It tastes a bit castrated and one sided. Who knows maybe it just needs a lot of time to settle down...92?+
Copyright © Peter Wittenberg
Assorted 1998 Red Burgundy
Vintage Rating: 88/100
Arnoux VR Suchots
Vivacissimo V5 on the nose! On the palate even better - crammed with sweet and luscious fruit. A sensual wine that doesn't quit... Has a 'quaff me now' quality which means that you are in danger of drinking a bit too fast! Slow down boy! This is supergood stuff - 94 W+!
DRC Richebourg
This wine immediately shows the richer and darker side of the '98 finish. Although you still smell the granat, it is from a very dark red one. So it isn't as bright as LT...smells like deep brooding fruit and a panoply of mulling spices. On the palate immediately has a volume and presence which announces itself as great. Very full and lovely fruit and for my palate better than LT at this stage. Nice structured finish goes off into the horizon - 95 W+.
Dugat-py Chambertin
Nose is good; on the palate...completely disappointing. Lacks structure and fullness. Everywhere are holes in the palate... Pretty enough but not worth the high price tag - 90.
Groffier Chambolle Musigny Haut-doix
Pretty wine with nice floral aromas...somewhat light but charming enough - some oak...90.
Georges Jayer Echezeaux
Flamboyant nose of pomegranate and spices. Incredible ripeness and length, but now primary and as yet undeveloped...94 W+.
Leroy Latricieres Chambertin
Nose of cinnamon and Morello cherry deep dish pie with cinnamon – smells like Mrs. Smith's pie! (And then you realize that Mrs. Smith's has hydrogenated oil in it - hah!) But nice balance and harmony on palate...no blockbuster – it seems that even better ‘98s lack enough backbone for greatness - and this is already quite ready but will last - 92.
Leroy Musigny
A nose of dense dark fruit that lacks clarity... On the palate this is a fine wine with nice round tannins but it is a bit heavy and straightforward, not more not less. Not enough Musigny dirt here. Finish is of decent length. Will probably develop quite well in the bottle and last for a long time - 91.
Copyright © Peter Wittenberg
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